Kingdom Hearts Re:Chain of Memories
by Square Enix
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Video Game Reviews of Kingdom Hearts Re:Chain of Memories
Customer Review: An amazing remake!
Summary: 5 Stars
This is a full PS2 remake of the original GBA Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories. It's much better than the original, mainly because of the graphics and the new voice overs. It's probably not as good as the Japanese version, which came out in March of 2007, but it's as perfect as you can get. It also definitely helps with the wait for Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days and Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep.Customer Review: My Review
Summary: 5 Stars
Its much more enjoyable than the GBA version, but still quite challenging. I recommend it for Kingdom Hearts fans, even though I dislike the card-based battle system. Just suck it up and plow on through.Kingdom Hearts Re:Chain of MemoriesCustomer Review: It's fanservice, but who cares?
Summary: 4 Stars
It's been about two years since I first played Kingdom Hearts II and went "WTF is going on here?" about the missing story arc found in Chain of Memories. I did not have a GameBoy Advance, so I had no idea how Sora came to be sleeping for a year at the start of KH2. Thankfully, though, after three years, Chain of Memories was finally released in the U.S.
My first thought when receiving it was "Yay! I can't wait to play it and see everything I missed!" And play I did. Anyways.
The game play is far different from either of the other two Kingdom Hearts games. The battle system has a deck of cards to be used for attack moves, healing powers, and friend cards, instead of having an unlimited amount of attacks the player can do, healing whenever needed, and team members staying and assisting throughout the entire battle. I suppose it may have been an attempt to make the game more of a strategy-based RPG, instead of one involving mindless button-mashing to beat bosses, but it sort of failed in that aspect. While, yes, the game is harder than other KH games, it does devolve from strategy to button-mashing about halfway through it. As the game progresses and the player levels, the choice is given of whether to upgrade health, card points (increases number of cards in deck), or earn a new sleight (a special move requiring three cards in battle, usually powerful and very useful). If one levels mainly CP and HP, then one will be allowed more cards in a deck, meaning more chances to button-mash.
Mainly this is true of regular battles, but the developers did succeed in making the boss battles require some strategy. As cards can be broken (meaning the player's attack can be over-powered by the enemy's) and the bosses able to use sleights, cards of special rank are needed to break sleights and prevent powerful attacks. For some bosses, using certain sleights is definitely recommended. Despite the at first confusing battle system, I found the change refreshing. This game takes more thought than the other two KH games, making it more fun, in my opinion.
The graphics are basically the same as in the previous KH games for the PS2, but the characters' movements seem smoother and not as jerky. This game is more refined in that aspect. However, there is no voice-acting in the different worlds visited throughout Sora's trip in Castle Oblivion, which made the worlds seem a bit uninteresting to me. I found myself rushing through the worlds and skipping any dialogue, just so that I could see more of the Organization members. By the way, the voices for the members are all extremely satisfying, except for Larxene's; I felt her voice needed to be a bit deeper, in order to match her role of sadistic and cruel.
No matter how fun I believe the game to be, however, it is basically just fanservice. It may have filled in a major gap in the series for PS2 users, but it was mainly used to garner extra profits over the Christmas season. Even so, I found it to be a great way to refresh my liking for the Kingdom Hearts game series until the new titles are released.
There is basically no replay value, though. After Sora's half of the game is beaten, the option of watching all the cut-scenes from the game again is given in the new theater feature. So, instead of replaying the game for the storyline, a person could just watch it almost completely in the theater.
All in all, I recommend it, if one wants to kill time and really enjoys the Kingdom Hearts game franchise. However, people who aren't exactly great at strategy-based games may not want to pick it up, as one cannot button-mash throughout the entire game.
(Sorry if there are any typos. I did not exactly proofread this.)
Customer Review: What a disappointment!
Summary: 2 Stars
I was so excited to learn that Chain of Memories was going to be converted to PS2, however that excitement went down the drain after playing it for ten minutes. The entire "card" system of playing is just annoying. Especially if you've played both KH 1 & 2! Trying to remember what cards do what, or even worse being in the middle of a battle and having to stop so you can recall all your cards is just a waste of time. Half the time I spend doing that I'm getting killed by bosses.
I tried playing the game over the course of a few days, but just kept getting mad that I couldn't make any head way. The other two games I played almost non stop and enjoyed every minute. This one? I returned it.
Here's hoping that when KH3 comes out (hopefully soon!) that it won't have this battle system.
Customer Review: Full 3D Remake
Summary: 4 Stars
What happens when you mix Disney with Square Enix? Why, the exciting (and highly addictive) action/adventure RPG Kingdom Hearts, of course. When this partnership was first announced, I, like much of the gaming universe, scratched my head and wondered how on earth this could actually work -it seemed to have a high potential for failure and could easily become laughable. The result, however, was the exact opposite of speculation. With the release of Kingdom Hearts, Disney and Squar Enix launched a new video game franchise that captured the hearts of millions of children, teens, and older gamers who grew up around the Disney universe.
Kingdom Hearts Re:Chain of Memories is a full 3D remake of Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories, which was originally for the Game Boy Advance in 2006. The game bridges the gap between Kingdom Hearts and Kingdom Hearts II, and follows the adventures of Sora and buddies Donald and Goofy as they journey through the ominous Castle Oblivion to regain their memories.
The game moves just as like the others: play through various Disney worlds, each with its own mini-story, and when you complete a world, the over-arching plot moves forward. However, unlike both of the other KH games, Re:COM throws the previous gameplay system completely out the window and starts over with a card system.
This is where the game becomes difficult. At first, I didn't like the card system, like many KH fans. However, the further I got into the game and the more I played with the card system, the more I came to enjoy it. Instead of the traditional hack-and-slash of the other games, the card system requires more strategy. Rather than blindly attacking monsters and just whacking away at them, the player actually needs to think ahead so that they can stock the appropriate cards -and keep from running out of cards. The battle system tends to be what fans have the most trouble with, and I do agree that it isn't for everybody -but if you go into it with an open mind, you may find that you enjoy it.
The other elements of the Re:COM are pure KH gold. While I think that it has the weakest plot of the franchise, it's still a nice addition to the series and will help satisfy fans until the next KH game hits shelves.